Buzz in the sky

Ron Eade, The Ottawa Citizen07.06.2012

Executive chef Collin Thornton at his rooftop garden at the Fairmont Royal York in downtown Toronto. The garden supplies fresh herbs and edible flowers for the hotel restaurants, as well as nectar for resident bees.
/ Ron Eade

Collin Thornton, executive chef at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the St. Lawrence Market.Norm Betts
/ norm betts, photog

View of the the roof-top herb garden

Fairmont Royal York head beekeeper Melanie Coates, left, and Mylee Nordin of the Toronto Beekeeping Co-operative, inspect hives on the hotel roof. Bees from the hotel travel as far as six kilometres as they forage for nectar on Toronto Island and the Don Valley.
/ Ron Eade

Bees are regularly inspected on the roof of the Fairmont Royal York to ensure they’re secure, happy and productive.
/ Ron Eade

Trio of Royal York Summer Honey Smoothies. From left, Lemon and Ginger Elixir, Carrot and Ginger, Peach Mango. In the large pitcher, Carrot and Ginger Smoothie.Ron Eade
/ Ron Eade

Bees at one of six hives on the roof of the Royal York hotel.Ron Eade
/ Ron Eade

Up near the clouds on the roof of the Fairmont Royal York, the Honey Moon Suite is buzzing as literally tens of thousands of worker bees living there forage through Toronto’s urban canyons looking for, of all things, nectar to make honey.

In fact, Royal York head beekeeper Melanie Coates oversees six hives above the 14th floor of the iconic Toronto landmark, amid a towering forest of glass, concrete and steel. And, yes, they do produce an impressive amount of honey since the hotel apiary was launched in 2008 by former executive chef David Garcelon.

Garcelon has since moved on to New York City, where this year he put beehives on the roof of the Waldorf Astoria on Park Avenue.

“Last year we got well over 100 pounds of honey from each hive, and in a good season it could be 150 pounds,” Coates says, on a recent sunny afternoon on the roof inspecting the hives.

Other catchy names for the hives include the Royal Sweet, V.I.Bee Suite, Bee+Bee Suite, Stayin-a-Hive Suite and Comb Suite Comb. Fairmont has beehives at more than a dozen other properties across North America, but so far not at the venerable Château Laurier in downtown Ottawa, which lacks the obvious flat surfaces on the rooftop to put them.

But that doesn’t mean the Château isn’t interested. “We’re looking at options because our new chef, Daniel Buss, is keen to take part,” says hotel spokesman Deneen Perrin.

Coates took a beekeeping course in addition to her job as hotel regional director of public relations. She is assisted by Mylee Nordin, a staff beekeeper with the Toronto Beekeeping Co-operative, which responded to Garcelon’s original call six years ago to explore the idea of bringing hives to the downtown rooftop.

Bee-lieve it or not (sorry, couldn’t resist), the co-operative has 45 members and manages some 20 hives in Downsview Park, three at Toronto Botonical Gardens, and six on the roof of the Royal York.

“The honey here is really a dark, thick honey, which is due to the time of year and the nectar that is collected,” Nordin says. “The bees feed off a lot of aster and goldenrod, the later summer crops, and that honey can be prone to more crystalizing and a bit more difficult for them to digest.

“But the bees do very well in urban settings where the winter isn’t quite so harsh,” she adds.

Not only are the downtown bees more sheltered, but they have more immediate sources of nectar thanks to a series of 17 four-post garden beds, also located on the roof within easy buzzing distance, where executive chef Collin Thornton, formerly at the Château Laurier in Ottawa, maintains a thriving fresh herb and vegetable oasis in the shadow of the CN Tower. These days he oversees a staff of more than 110 in the largest hotel kitchen in Canada.

His home-grown herbs are routinely added to vinaigrettes, while desserts are adorned with edible flowers harvested from the roof. Lemon balm, edible pansies and red basil are just a few of many raised in beds and planter pots, often ending up on fancy plates created by executive chef Tim Palmer in the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, EPIC.

Each is organically nourished with sheep manure; weeding and planting is done on a rotational basis by apprentice chefs, part of the chain-wide Fairmont policy to promote sustainable, local agriculture in its kitchens.

“My plan here is to make the rooftop garden even bigger,” says Thornton, who took over as executive chef in January after four years at the Fairmont Orchid in Hawaii, where every conceivable fresh vegetable and fruit grows in abundance.

Even while he was at the Château Laurier for two years ending 2008, Thornton worked with small farms in the Ottawa area to grow specialty foodstuffs for the hotel, including helping them select unique heriloom tomatoes and other vegetable seeds to plant in spring. And he regularly dispatched his chefs to the fields in places like Rockland to learn where the food comes from and what harvesting is all about.

Bee fever seems a natural selection as hotels clamour to go green — from installing water savers in hotel room showerheads to low-energy light bulbs and, now, grow-it-yourself food. “The first year bees were put in here, you noticed a difference in the rooftop gardens. The beds were absolutely more productive, so it does have an impact,” Nordin says.

Telling guests that one-third of the nation’s food supply benefits from bee pollination only adds to the cachet. And to think, the honey guests find in little jars at the Royal York breakfast table comes from hives on the roof.

“It’s been so successful we now have this entire Lifestyle Cuisine menu with raw, heart healthy, vegan, gluten-free, macrobiotic choices based on the ratio of fats to carbohydrates and proteins, diabetic choices, in addition to our regular menu. It’s a lot of labour, but demand is definitely there.

“Generally, in our fine-dining EPIC restaurant most of the food chef Palmer uses comes from within 100 km. We’re dealing directly with some vendors at the St. Lawrence Market, where we offer excursions for guests with our chefs.

“And we’re using those bees in many ways,” Thornton says.

“You may not think those little beehives produce very much, but together than can produce 800 pounds of honey. The bees will travel as far as Toronto Island, the Leslie Street Spit, and the Don Valley.”

Co-op beekeepers like Noirdin make regular visits with Coates to care for the hives, which could reach a peak population of about 200,000 by mid-summer.

And, Coates insists, each hive really does have its own personality.

“Bees are like puppies,” she says.

“They’re furry. I believe the bees know who we are, they recognize our tone of voice, our smell. I can definitely tell when a stranger comes into their midst because the bees act a little more agitated.”

For the glaze, heat olive out in sauté pan over medium-high heat; add garlic and sweat 2 minutes. Add citrus juices and reduce liquid by half over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Stir in honey. Add coriander, salt and pepper to taste; remove from heat, set aside and allow to cool.

To make the hash, in a frypan heat olive oil on medium-high heat and sauté onions just until translucent, then add garlic and cook about 1 minute. Add potatoes, corn kernels and sauté until heated through. Add chicken stock and reduce 1 minute; season to taste.

To prepare the char, marinate fish fillets in the glaze 2 hours, refrigerated. When done, discard marinade. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Season fish with salt, pepper. Lightly oil a heavy ovenproof frypan and preheat on high, then sear char on one side until golden. Flip over fillets and transfer to oven to bake only about 3 minutes, until semi-firm, to to desired doneness.

For the vegetable, heat a little oil in a frypan and sauté broccolini or baby broccoli florets until heated through.

To assemble, divide hash and nroccolini florets among 8 plates, place glazed char fillet on top.

Source: Executive chef Collin Thornton, Fairmont Royal York

Trio of Royal York Summer Honey Smoothies

Each makes 10 small (shooter) portions

■ Peach, Mango and Honey

■ 13/4 cups (425 mL) freshly squeezed orange juice

■ 3/4 cup (175 mL) light honey

■ 11/4 cups (300 mL) low-fat yogurt

■ 1 cup sliced mango

■ 1 clup sliced peach

■ Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Serve immediately.

■ Lemon and Ginger Elixir with Honey

■ 31/2 cups (875 mL) water

■ 1 cup (250 mL) fresh ginger, grated

■ 3/4 cup (175 mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice

■ 3/4 cup (175 mL) honey

■ 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) each, ground black pepper and cayenne pepper

■ 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) minced garlic

Bring water to boil; combine all remaining ingredients in a teapot of other heatproof vessel, Pour boling water over ingredients and steep 10 minutes. Strain out and discard solids, add fresh lemon juice to taste and either drink warm, or chill overnight.

For the cake, in a bowl combine well all dry ingredients; set aside. In another bowl, cream together avocado and apple sauce, then add oil, vanilla, honey.

Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well. Add grated carrots, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre of cake comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

For the icing sugar, in a bowl combine all ingredients well and whip until light and fluffy.

Source: Executive chef Collin Thornton, Fairmont Royal York

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